TOUR DATES:
6-12 July 2026

BOOKING INFORMATION

For a summary outline of our tour itinerary, see below.
If you have any questions or encounter difficulties, don’t hesitate to contact us via the contact form here.

Ticket Price
£4,300 per person

Note: The above price is based on double occupancy.
(Double Room with Single Occupancy is priced at £5,300)

NOTE: PAYMENT IS MADE IN THREE EQUAL PAYMENTS, WITH ONE-THIRD PAID AS A DEPOSIT ON BOOKING.

If you are a solo traveller but would be open to sharing a room with another traveller, please contact us to discuss.

Limited room upgrades are available for our stay at Thornbury Castle (see the gallery below for the rooms available).
If you are interested, please indicate this at checkout, and we will be in touch to discuss your wishes further.

Room Upgrade Options at Thornbury Castle

1502:
The Year That Shook The Tudor Throne

Tour Highlights

  • Two resident historians will guide you and answer your questions throughout the tour.
  • Enjoy the uniquely satisfying experience of following a Tudor progress and soaking up the sense of what it was like to be part of the Tudor court on the move.
  • Learn more about one of the most turbulant years in Tudor history and the impact on the two key protagonists: Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.
  • Visit ten historic locations associated with the 1502 progress located in both England and Wales.
  • Learn from celebrated experts such Sean Cunningham (The National Archives), Nathan Amin (Author and Historian) Dr Elizabeth Norton (Author and historian), Eleri Lynn (Author and Tudor Textiles Expert and Sam Harper (Historian) .
  • Luxury hotels, including two nights at the celebrated five-star Thornbury Castle.
  • Private tours of two medieval libraries en route, including the opportunity see up close rare and precious documents and artefacts not normally on display to the public.
  • The opportunity to engage in Tudor pastimes, including archery and falconry while staying in the majestic Thornbury Castle.
  • Celebrate with a quintessential English tea experience with the historic Thornbury Castle as the backdrop.
  • Luxury, air-conditioned coach transport throughout.
  • Breakfast and dinner are included on all days of the tour.

Overview of Your Tour Itinerary…

Day One: 6 July – Arrival and Travel To The Cotswolds

  • Pick up at a central London location and head towards our first accommodation: the boutique Cotswold House Hotel & Spa in the lovely Cotswold town of Chipping Campden.
  • En route, we will stop in Blenheim Park and visit the site of the Old Palace of Woodstock to learn about the royal manor, its history, and its place in the 1502 progress.
  • In the afternoon, we will check into our hotel. There will be free time to settle in, relax, and enjoy the spa and the treatments on offer (the use of the spa is included in your ticket price, but treatments must be booked and paid for separately).
  • In the evening, we will meet for pre-dinner drinks, enjoy a short welcome talk by our resident historians, Sarah Morris (aka The Tudor Travel Guide) and Adam Pennington (aka The Tudor Chest), and dine privately in the hotel restaurant.

Day Two: 7 July – Worcester and Gloucester Cathedrals

  • After breakfast at our hotel, we will travel to Worcester Cathedral to see the glorious chantry chapel and the tomb of Prince Arthur, whose tragic and untimely death in April 1502 set the tone for 1502 progress.
  • There, we will meet with historian and author Sean Cunningham, an expert on the life of Henry VII and Arthur Tudor. After hearing from Sean and visiting Prince Arthur’s tomb, we will also have the privilege of a private visit to the cathedral’s ancient library, once part of the monastic foundation at Worcester. The cathedral’s archivist will show us some of the library’s medieval and Tudor treasures. Get up close and personal with various fabulous medieval / Tudor books and documents!
  • After lunch, we head to Gloucester for a visit to the cathedral. Sarah will talk about the reception of Tudor royalty, such as Henry and Elizabeth, in major cities and towns. She will also point out a set of Tudor stained glass with links to the 1502 progress before we take another satisfying peek behind the scenes, exploring the cathedral’s medieval library under the guidance of its chief archivist.
  • After some free time to explore the cathedral, we will head back to the hotel for a spot of relaxation and dinner at a local restaurant.

Day Three: 8 July – Raglan Castle and The Monmouth Chasuble

  • After checking out of our hotel, we head into south-east Wales to visit Raglan Castle, the one-time childhood home of Henry VII. Raglan marks one of the most significant stops on the royal progress, and we will hear about the castle’s history and significance to Henry Tudor from Nathen Amin, author of the recently published book Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor.
  • In the afternoon, on our way back into England, we stop in Monmouth, the county town of Monmouthshire, to enjoy a unique, private viewing of a chasuble that Elizabeth of York is said to have gifted to the town when the royal couple visited during the 1502 progress. Eleri Lynn, an expert on Tudor textiles and ex-head of the Historic Dress Collection at Hampton Court Palace, will be on hand to talk about the chasuble and the significance of such vestments at the Tudor court.
  • From Monmouth, we will travel to our next accommodation, the glorious Thornbury Castle in Gloucestershire.

Day Four: 9 July – Your Tudor Experience Day at Thornbury Castle

  • Today is a day of relaxation—Tudor-style! In the morning, you will have the opportunity to enjoy the tranquil surroundings of the historic Thornbury Castle while having the option to partake of two Tudor pastimes: archery and falconry.
  • After a light lunch, there will be some free time before we come together to enjoy afternoon cream tea, either in the castle gardens or in a private suite (weather dependent). You will enjoy the delights of this quintessentially English tradition and learn about the etiquette surrounding what is savoured today by the English as an indulgent afternoon treat.
  • We will come together again in the evening to hear from the author and historian, Elizabeth Norton, who will talk to us about the life of one of the two central protagonists of the 1502 progress: the enigmatic but much-loved Elizabeth of York, before enjoying dinner in the hotel restaurant.

Day Five: 10 July – Berkeley Castle and Beverston Castle

  • After checking out of Thornbury Castle, we head towards one of the major stops on the 1502 progress: Berkeley Castle, where we will enjoy a tour of the castle by one of the castle guides and explore some of the suite of rooms probably used by Henry and Elizabeth while in residence at Berkeley.
  • Afterwards, we will follow in the footsteps of Henry and Elizabeth by stopping at Beverston Castle, just outside the Cotswold market town of Tetbury.
  • While the medieval part of the castle is in ruins, Beverston’s owners have invited us to get up close to the ruins and enjoy tea and cake on the adjacent terrace overlooking the old moat and gardens beyond (weather dependent).
  • We will arrive at our final accommodation in the late afternoon: The Bay Tree Hotel in Burford.

Day Six: 11 July – Cirencester and Fairford – Cotswold Wool Towns

  • After breakfast, we travel by minibus to Cirencester, once the epicentre of the Cotswold wool trade. Cirencester was an important Roman town that flourished during the medieval period due to the renowned quality of the wool produced in the area. Being at the centre of Europe’s wool trade, its wealth became an essential source of income for the Tudor Crown.
  • We visit St John the Baptist parish church at the heart of this historic town to meet with Sam Harper, an expert on Henry Tudor and the wool churches of the Cotswolds, to see physical evidence of these links, alongside several precious artefacts, including the famous Anne Boleyn’s cup.
  • After lunch, Sam will accompany us to the nearby town of Fairford, another key centre of the wool trade and home to one of the most wealthy Tudor wool merchants. Fairford was one of the stops on the 1502 progress, and although the original manor house has been lost, the adjacent parish church contains a unique set of Tudor stained glass installed around the time of the 1502 progress. Sam will talk to us on location about the glass and the story of the Tame family, who hosted the royal visit. We will see their tombs and memorial brasses and learn more about ‘How to Read a Tudor Tomb’
  • In the evening, we will meet for a leisurely dinner in the hotel and share stories of all we have seen on our incredible journey through time.

Day Seven: 12 July – Departure

  • Following breakfast at the hotel, we will say our final farewells. There will be a coach transfer back to central London for those who need it. Alternatively, you may use this central base for onward travel to the north of England.
MEET YOUR HOSTS

YOUR TOUR CO-HOSTS

Sarah

Morris

Founder of ‘The Tudor Travel Guide’ and ‘The Ultimate Guide to Exploring Tudor England’. Author of ‘In the Footsteps of Anne Boleyn’ and ‘In the Footsteps of the Six Wives of Henry VIII’.

Adam

Pennington

Founder of ‘The Tudor Chest’ blog and podcast, historian and author of ‘Henry VIII and the Plantagenet Poles – The Rise and Fall of a Dynasty’.

Guest Experts

Sean

Cunningham

Sean is one of the leading historians whose expertise focuses on the reign of Henry VII (1485–1509). He is also one of the small team of dedicated historians responsible for digitalising The Chamber Books relating to the reign of Henry VII and Elizabeth of York.

Nathen

Amin

Nathen is an author from West Wales who focuses on Henry VII’s reign. Among his books are the first full-length biography of the Beaufort family, The House of Beaufort, Henry VII and the Tudor Pretenders, Simnel, Warbeck and Warwick, and Son of Prophecy: The Rise of Henry Tudor.

Elizabeth

Norton

Dr Elizabeth Norton is a historian and author. She specialises in writing about the Queens of England and the Tudor period—her published works include The Boleyn Women and one of Sarah’s personal favourites, Anne Boleyn: In Her Own Words & the Words of Those Who Knew Her.

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Eleri

Lynn


Eleri Lynn is a fashion historian and author. She previously held the role of Curator of Collections at Historic Royal Palaces. She is the author of books such as Tudor Fashion and Tudor Textiles and was instrumental in the fabulous discovery of the Bacton Altar Cloth.

Sam

Harper

Sam is a researcher and lecturer with a particular interest in Henry VII and the wool churches of the Cotswolds. Sam was also part of the small team responsible for the digitalisation of Queen’s Chamber Books, one of the key documents relating to the 1502 progress.

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